//------------------------------// // Maintenance, old friends and answers. // Story: Golden Shadows // by Sylif Daring Doo //------------------------------// *Gordac, Outside Galesh's ship.* Galesh considered herself a patient and practical person, and while she would openly admit that she had some anger issues, she usually tried to keep a cool and level head most of the time. Needless to say, this was not one of those times, and she felt justified in her anger as she stared at Nightmare. "How did they find us? we did not call upon any Sentinel powers." She asked with a narrowed gaze. "That's my fault actually." Lyaroa spoke up, making her mother face her. "I used some power to call in reinforcements, and I'm going to have to do it again." She said with a calm tone, which only served to anger her mother more as she stepped up. Galesh soon reached Lyaroa and growled. "ARE YOU INSANE OR STUPID!? WE NEED TO HIDE AND MOVE UNDETECTED SO YOU DON'T GET CAPTURED OR KILLED!" She shouted, grabbing her daughter by the scruff of her neck and staring her down. Lyaroa said nothing as she stared blankly at her mother, she raised an eyebrow and Galesh's arm was grabbed by a hand, the older of the two Sentinel's looked to see who it was and saw Nightmare, the fox shook her head without a word and Galesh released her daughter. "Whoever you called, they better be able to fight, because with the ship out of commission we are stuck here while the Sentinel Army or more Hunters come after us." Galesh stated before walking to the ship. "Fang, give Lyaroa her body back, she'll need it whether she likes it or not." Galesh ordered before walking up to an open crate, she spotted a device that was black in color, long and curved slightly near the end and with a small hole at the tip, she grabbed the device as well as a mask with a tinted glass visor and walked to the ship's hull, she put the mask on and turned on the device, a bright blue flame formed at the top of the device and she ran it along the hull of the ship. Work progressed almost wordlessly for a few hours, no one spoke as they worked on repairing the severe damage to the ship, even with them all working together, Galesh and Lyaroa estimated that it would take two days to finish up repairs on the ship. Eventually, Galesh lowered the tool when she heard a voice call out. "We have comms!" The Sentinel looked to the ship's ramp and saw Spark, Estalli and two others that she didn't recognize, she raised an eyebrow and walked over to a closed crate, she took the mask off and set both it and the repair tool on the crate before facing the newcomers. "Who are you two?" Galesh asked with crossed arms. The first of the newcomers was large bear with brown fur and golden patches, a black nose and paw pads, his rounded eyes had green Irises and sclera and the pupil was black, he wore nothing but a silver device of some kind on his left arm and a brown strap over his back that had a long staff attached to it. The staff was made of some kind of sand colored wood with light orange coloration in the center, an earthquake pattern was all over it while small metal plates adorned a large portion of the staff. The bear held a hand out to Galesh. "I'm Golden, though everybody back home calls me Var." He introduced as he pulled his hand back. Galesh shook the bear's hand and looked at the other newcomer, this one was a large blue scaled reptile, he stood a foot taller than Golden and his eyes were emerald in color, on his back was a strap just like Golden's but it had a large iron halberd attached to it. "I'm Emerald, you must be Galesh." He said with a calm expression to him. "I am." Galesh said before looking at Roxanne who had walked up. "Do you know them?" She asked out of curiosity. Roxanne nodded as she walked up to Golden with a smile, she then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "It's been way too long buddy." She whispered. Golden returned the hug and then pulled away a moment later, he grinned and crossed his arms. "Yes it has...seven years and you haven't aged a day." He said with a hint of jealousy. Roxanne chuckled and rubbed her left arm. "It's been around twenty for most of us." She replied, making Golden sigh dramatically. "Golden and Emerald are our friends from the old world." Fang explained as he walked up. "In fact, Golden here is the most powerful psychic combatant I know." He added with praise. "Psychic eh?" Galesh asked as she looked at Golden. "Don't know too many Sentinel's who have that power." She comments before looking at the damage and then at the bear. "What brings you to this... mess?" She asked. "I have my reasons." The bear replied cryptically before taking a breath and looking at Lyaroa. "In exchange for my help, Lyaroa promised to help me out." He said flatly before walking over to where Spark and Firefly were busy checking out some exposed wiring. Emerald sighed and watched his friend walk off. "Don't mind him, he's been bitter ever since he lost Ancree years ago." He said quietly. "Who?" Galesh asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't recall anyone ever mentioning someone by that name." She added. Emerald nodded. "Other than myself, no one here knows about her, she was a hyena that helped Var to integrate into the world we call home." He looked over at the bear and watched as he helped the kids with the wiring. "Ancree was his best friend and the leader of our rebellion, she recruited him in the early days which was about two years before he ended up in Equestria." He looked up at the sky. "He helped them out and managed to rally incredible support for their rebellion and he stood by her side the entire time." The dragon's expression changed to an angered and remorseful one and his eyes softened. Galesh raised an eyebrow at the odd expression but chose to press her luck. "What happened?" She asked quietly and softly. Emerald looked at Galesh. "We were on a mission, me, Var, Ancree, Jinx, Krak, Ingvir and Pharz, along with twenty four skilled infiltrators, we snuck into a Homla Empire fortress with the intention of stealing all valuable information and possibly assassinating a high ranking general." He said with vivid recollection. Galesh looked at the bear who had a smile on his face but she could see the hurt in his eyes. "Something went wrong, didn't it?" She asked. Emerald nodded and motioned for Galesh to follow him as he walked to the ship's ramp. "We... we were betrayed, by someone very close to all of us and specifically Krak." He explained with a depressed tone of voice. "You don't need to tell me anything." Galesh said as she stopped at the bottom of the ramp, looking up at Emerald who was about to enter the ship. Emerald gave the Sentinel a smile. "Thank you, but if you want to know the story, feel free to ask me, I know everything about it." He stated before heading into the ship. With that, Galesh walked back to her welding tool and mask and returned to work without even a glance at her daughter, still mad about her sudden decision. *Seven hours later, inside the ship.* "Why did you want to meet me in here?" Fang asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped into a small room with a single large lab table and a console which numerous numbers on it nearby as well as multiple monitors. Galesh peeked out from behind the monitors, she was still in her wolf form but she had a pair of rounded glasses on. "You told me that you were tired of seeing those visions, so I figured I would bring you in here and see what I can figure out." She explained like it was obvious while pointing to the lab table. Fang walked to the lab table and sat on it, he waited a while as Galesh walked out with a small metal tube. "You can stop the visions?" He asked. "Maybe." Galesh said as she stepped up to Fang. "I'm gonna shine this in your eyes briefly, don't blink and don't let your eyes close." She advised as she promptly turned the bright blue light on and shined it in his eyes. "Oh... don't rub your eyes." She added quickly. "Gah!" Fang cried out as his eyes burned, he clutched the table hard and felt it bend a little, a moment later, Galesh stepped away and inserted the device into a slot. "I swear, you shining that light in my eyes, It makes me wonder if your a bloody eye doctor." He said as he fought the urge to rub his eyes. "I am." Galesh said simply as she worked on the console and typed stuff in that Fang couldn't read very well because it was backwards. "It'll take a while for the results to come in, so if you could wait here that would be great." She added with a practiced tone, like she said it far too many times for her liking. "... You can blink now by the way." She said. Fang tilted his head and then blinked, his eyes felt loads better now that they weren't burning up. "You're a doctor?" He asked with surprise. "... A Sentinel eye doctor?" He asked with disbelief in his voice. Galesh peeked out again with narrowed eyes and then huffed, she stepped out from behind the desk and crossed her arms. "Yes, it was a thousand years before I became part of the Sentinel Council... why?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean... I just assumed that Sentinel eyes didn't degrade." Fang replied honestly, though he now spoke carefully just in case. Galesh stared Fang down for half a minute before the right upper corner of her lip curled up, she chuckled and looked down as she tried to contain amusement. "What? it's an honest answer." Fang asked, not really understanding. Galesh looked at Fang, her gold irises shined with an obvious excitement and her happy grin was oddly... unnerving to Fang. "Sentinel eyes degrade just like a mortals eyes, just slower, and if you are referring to the lack of eyeballs that you sometimes see, that's actually not helping the eyes." She explained. "Think of the golden mist that my eyes are at times as a... shield." She said after finding an example. "As long as a Sentinel's eyes are mist, they won't suffer damage from the elements or in the very rare case, a knife, but they will degrade quickly and vision will be hampered, kind of like trying to see through a thin layer of cloth." She explained. "Huh." Fang replied with an interested hum. "So what exactly was your job as a doctor?" He asked. Galesh smiled for a brief second but her eyes betrayed her excitement at the idea of talking about this subject. "My job was to restore eyesight to its original state, improve it or in some rare cases, give them new eyes, in short, if anyone came to me with a problem with their eyes, I could easily help them out, don't tell anyone this but..." Galesh looked at the door and then leaned in a little and spoke in a whisper. "I always preferred working on demonic eyes." She said like it was a big deal before leaning back and on the desk. Fang blinked and looked at Galesh like she was a stranger. 'Hearing her talk about this... it's kind of weird coming from her.' He raised an eyebrow and then spoke aloud. "What exactly is the difference?" He asked. Galesh rolled her eyes. "Sentinel eyes are always the same, they degrade and most of the time they are always golden, brown or dark green and just generally blank, but demonic eyes are very different, they can be just about any color and some can change with emotion or at will, they also all tell a story In their own right, anyone can read it even without the ability to see the Web." She explained, her tone was one of fake annoyance and appreciation. "Speaking of the Web, have you ever worked on anyone who could see it?" Fang asked out of curiosity. Galesh's eyes dulled a little and changed to a darker shade of gold as she groaned, before she could reply there was a beep from the monitor, she got up and walked around to work. "To answer your question, yes I have, there isn't a difference and that pisses me off, I don't particularly care for seeing the Web and it's not like I can remove the ability to see it." She complained as she typed some things down. Fang took a deep breath and decided to press his luck a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you hate seeing it so much? from what Lyaroa and Roxxane told me, it's an incredible thing to witness." He asked. The typing stopped for a brief moment before it continued, a quiet sigh was heard. "It may be beautiful to Lyaroa, as it's ever changing, but me? I would rather claw my eyes out before looking at it... imagine being able to look at someone and never forget their name or birthday... It sounds awesome doesn't it?" Galesh said with a quiet tone before letting out a long breath that Fang noticed was slightly shaky. "Now... imagine seeing the day they will die." She said with finality, making Fang look at the floor quietly. "Lyaroa is lucky, she can see the Web and not think of its horrors because she doesn't look at the day people die, but not me... I saw the day my parents died thousands of years before it happened." She said quietly. Fang looked at the monitors where quiet typing could be heard behind them. "... I'm sorry." He said in a whisper. "That's why I hate my ability to see the Web of Life and why I don't use it, I drove myself insane trying to prevent my parents deaths only for them to die peacefully at home." Galesh said with a long sigh. Fang said nothing, because in his mind, what could he possibly say right now? "Now, your results are in... well, as I suspected, your ability to see visions is tied to your temporal abilities, I imagine they will go away when or if you give them back to Lyaroa." Galesh stated. Fang raised an eyebrow at this and looked to the monitors. "Is there anything you can do?" He asked with a little hope in his voice. "Yes." Galesh replied. "Two things actually, the first is for me to rip your eyes out." She stated, peeking out. "Nope." Fang replied instantly. Galesh rolled her eyes. "Baby." She complained before walking out and leaning on the desk again, her eyes were again a normal gold. "The second thing I can do is have the system design a special formula for you to drink that will prevent you from ever seeing another vision in your life." She explained. Fang's left ear twitched. "How long will that take?" He asked. Galesh smirked. "Two to three days max, less if I work on it myself." She replied with the arrogant tone that Fang remembered, her eyes shining just a tad brighter. "I guess I'll take the second option then." Fang shrugged, he watched as Galesh walked behind the monitors again. 'She is very strange... I don't really know what to make of her anymore, not to mention the Sentinel's in general... I could just ask.' He thought to himself. Deciding to test his luck one more time, Fang opened his mouth to speak. "Hey Galesh, you know a lot of things right?" He asked, he then facepalmed at his own question. Galesh could be heard snickering behind the monitors, she spoke up though. "Who... heh, who do you... think you're talking... Ha Ha! To?" She said between laughs. Fang groaned and lowered his head. "Ok, more specifically, you know a lot about Sentinel's in general." He said. Galesh stifled a laugh as she worked, though she did manage to speak up. "Yea... I do, what do you want to know?" She asked before working on calming down. "This might seem random, but what's the average life span of a Sentinel?" Fang asked. "Eighty thousand years." Galesh replied quickly and easily. Fang blinked, surprised by the speed of the answer. "Who is the oldest Sentinel?" He asked. "Alive or in history?" Galesh asked, smiling for a reason she didn't understand. "Uh... I guess in general?" Fang said while scratching the back of his head. "Junla Woap, two hundred thousand and fourteen years old before dying in bed surrounded by his hundred decendants." Galesh easily replied. "How old is the Forge of the Void?" Fang asked, curious if Galesh would even answer. "Seventy trillion years old, the younger cousin of the Heart of the Void which is older than recorded history." Galesh answered. "And considering the Sentinel lifespan, that is saying something." She added. "What exactly is the Forge?" Fang asked. "The Forge of the Void is the Capital city of the Sentinel Empire, it is where the central government resides and where all important decisions such as military and financial are discussed, it is also the home of the Swordwraiths and home to the largest concentration of Sentinel life in all creation." Galesh answered while working. "Who exactly are the World Builders?" Fang asked. Galesh paused and her finger hovered over a button before she continued. "The World Builders exist with the purpose and desire to create world's and life, they do not have to make a personal effort into their work as they can simply create the seed of a World and let it take its own course, of course, should a World Builder desire it, they can participate in the creation of individual Planets and if they have the patience, a World itself, studies into the psychology of a World Builder show that World Builders grow attached to the ones they personally create." She explained before taking a long breath and then continuing to work. "Uh... who rules over the Sentinel's?" Fang wondered. Galesh huffed. "That's too easy... The Council of Eight, they rule over the Sentinel Empire, the Eight Council Members are chosen by the rest of the Council by vote and under strict scrutiny, I am the Council Member of Intelligence, there are also Finance, War, Peace, Creation, Justice, Innovation, Tradition, the law dictates that no Council Member may have personal ties to another Council Member, regardless if they are alive, dead, outcast or retired... Unless it's two retired or outcast Council Members, then it's fine." She explained. "Hmm... can all Sentinel's float?" Fang asked, changing to more simple questions. "Yes." Galesh replied easily. "Can Sentinel's become ghosts?" Galesh raised an eyebrow. "For twenty four hours." She replied. "Are you a living encyclopedia?" Fang asked with a grin. "Yes." Galesh said without thinking before pausing, her eyes widened and she peeked out at Fang who was laughing quietly, her eyes turned to a deep shade of blue. "N-no! I mean... I-I-I... Shut up you aggravating Lontu of a canine!" She shouted angrily as her face heated up out of embarrassment, she quickly hid behind the monitors. Fang lost it as he fell back on the table laughing, he held his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably at Galesh's expense. Galesh grumbled and cursed under her breath as she worked quietly. "You are such a Lontu." She whispered. After a while, Fang seemed to get his laughing under control and he sat up, he took a few moments to get his breathing under control as well and he looked at the monitors with a smile. "You alright back there?" He asked sincerely. "... Yea." Galesh took a moment to answer. Fang frowned and he decided to stand up, he took a step forward. "What does Lontu mean?" He asked out of curiosity. "..." "Galesh?" Fang asked with a little worry. "... It... It means asshole." Galesh said quietly. Fang walked to the desk and looked at Galesh who was busy working with an unreadable expression on her face. "Are you sure you're alright? If I offended you I'm sorry, I just thought a joke would help to lighten the mood." He said as he sat on the desk. Galesh's finger stopped just over a button, she sighed and set her hand on the desk and looked down, she took her glasses off and set them down on the desk and then closed her eyes. "..." "Do you want me to leave?" Fang asked softly. Galesh said nothing, making Fang take it as a yes, he was about to walk away from the desk when he heard Galesh speak. "Did you know..." She started, making the wolf pause and look at the Sentinel. "Did you know that Lyaroa and I used to be close?" She asked in an unreadable tone. "... She told me that she loved you as a mother once, she said you were great before the fighting started." Fang answered honestly, he walked back and sat on the desk again. "Lyaroa used to make jokes like that all the time, back when we got along and she loved me... she loved hearing me laugh or stutter, she said it made me sound nice instead of my strict self, and I... I tried, I tried so hard to bond with her but with her shapeshifting, I was scared that Huralo or his family would learn my secret... our secret." She said, Fang noticed that her hands were shaking. "I tried to convince her to accept her Sentinel self, because when a Sentinel shapeshifts, certain things remain with them as they gain new traits, for Lyaroa it was her eyes and her Empath habits." Galesh said. "Huralo found out about me, Anseri and Lyaroa being Empaths when she got so excited her eyes shined too brightly and her powers went haywire, from that point on, Huralo made it his personal mission to make my life a living hell by twisting my daughter against me with his threats, I was stuck." Galesh admitted as she visibly shook. Fang looked the trembling Sentinel over, and as he did, he couldn't see the resemblance anymore between who she was when she came to Equestria, and now. "I watched as Lyaroa was slowly drifting away from me and I couldn't do anything about it, and then Huralo pulled the final straw and forced me to give Lyaroa to the Swordwraiths, I know I could have run away, but..." She shook violently. Galesh growled in anger. "I never told anyone this, but not only did Huralo threaten to kill Anseri, but when the deed was done and Lyaroa was with the Swordwraiths, he had me marked by Hunters... the bastard had them watch me and if there was any sign or hint that I was going to save Lyaroa from those monsters, they would tell Huralo and kill me, I also learned that they set up key words, and if I say any of them, they will know exactly where I am." She said angrily before her tone became a somber one once again. "And then the day came, Lyaroa killed the grandmaster of the Swordwraiths and his inner circle, she broke out of the temple and ran away, Huralo forced me to engage Lyaroa but what he didn't count on was me trapping him in the barrier with me and Lyaroa, but in her rage and paranoia she killed him without thinking, even with him dead, I kept up the act just in case and dropped the barrier, letting Lyaroa leave." Galesh explained. Fang blinked and looked at Galesh with a surprised expression. "You... you wanted Lyaroa to kill Huralo that day, you put her in a position where Huralo would try to stop her and you knew that she would kill whoever touched her didn't you?" He theorized. Galesh let out a weak huff. "I am the Council Member of Intelligence for a reason." She replied weakly. "It was the only solution that could have worked to free us both from that bastards grip." She whispered. Fang nodded in understanding even though the Sentinel couldn't see it, he paused though as he thought of something. "Wait... something doesn't add up." He said, making the obviously upset Sentinel tense up. "You had thousands of years, with Anseri missing, why didn't you do anything then or even help Lyaroa instead of fighting her?" He asked. Galesh let out a few shaky breaths before speaking. "I... I didn't know if Huralo was hiding Anseri at first, I didn't want to take the risk, later on I figured out that Huralo and his family didn't have her, but then I thought that maybe he hired Hunters to keep her hidden just in case I rebelled, I didn't learn that Anseri ran away until five years before Lyaroa's escape." She explained, though her hesitation told Fang she was leaving something out. "Galesh, what are you not telling me?... why didn't you try to help or talk to Lyaroa right away, why make us fight you and Estalli?" Fang asked a little more forcefully than intended. "I always planned on restoring Lyaroa's strength, and I do want her to go back to the Forge so that she can face the Council... but not for the reason she thinks... I am trying to help her, but I... it's difficult." She said shakily. "I...I just." She took a breath to compose herself a little. "I needed her to want to fight, and if that failed, I needed her to have others who would fight for her sake and preferably alongside her, so that's why I did everything I did... as for why I came back..." She trailed off. A tear hit the desk and Fang blinked in surprise as Galesh silently cried. "... My sister Fiona." She whispered. "Huralo threatened my sweet baby sister, she was a teacher and a great singer, she was always able to make Lyaroa and Anseri smile and she loved to spend time with them, she was a great person." She said shakily. Fang froze up as Galesh's words sunk in, but one stood out. 'Was.' "Is she?..." Fang regretted having to ask this but it slipped out. Galesh raised her head and looked at Fang, tears streamed down her face, her eyes now a light purple. "Fiona died four years ago... I didn't find out until after Lyaroa defeated me." She said as she looked back down and cried. Fang wasn't willing to speak, but even so, he wasn't the one to break the silence. A thud from the doorway broke the silence and both Fang and Galesh looked to the doorway with shock as the sound of running could be heard moving away from the small lab. Lyaroa had heard. "Lyaroa wait!" Galesh called out as she ran after her daughter.